Gaia
"I am the Titan Gaia, ever present mother of Earth. I have watched you become a powerful warrior, and I have been with you through all the events of your life, but I can no longer simply watch. We will help you defeat Zeus." - Gaia Greek Mythology In Greek mythology, Gaia (Γαîα) was the primal goddess personifying the earth. She was a primordial and chthonic ancient deity and was considered the Mother Goddess of all life. She was born of Chaos, arising as the everlasting foundation of the gods of Olympus. She created the god Ouranos, the starry sky, who was also her equal, to cover her, the hills, and the fruitless deep of the sea, Pontus. Together they created Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, and the Titans Hyperion and Iapetus, Theia and Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, and Phoebe of the golden crown, and Tethys. After them was born Cronos, the wily, youngest, and most terrible of her children, who hated his sire. In the God of War Series In the ''God of War'' series, Gaia is the narrator for all three games, but has only actually appeared in God of War II and God of War III. She is portrayed as portly and naked .She was banished at the end of the Great War but helped Kratos in his quest for revenge. In return he set her free as well as the other Titans, beginning the second Great War with the gods. Birth and Early Days In the beginning, there was only darkness. This darkness was known as the deity Chaos. From Chaos came Nyx and together they created the world. Wishing to survey their work the Island of Creation was made where all life would begin. The first to be born was Gaia, who would become the mother of the earth. Ouranos was then created, joining with Gaia and giving birth to the first Cyclops, the Hecatonchires, and at last the Titans. Ouranos, out of disgust and hatred, imprisoned the Cyclops and Hecatonchires within Tartarus. It was because of this that Gaia grew an incredible amount of hatred for him and seeked revenge. Out of anger at the imprisonment of her children Gaia asked the Titans to help overthrow Ouranos. Only Cronos accepted this task and when Ouranos went to lay with Gaia Cronos attacked his father with a stone sickle, castrating him. From the dismembered genitals came aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. Soon the Titans would rule the world with Cronos as their leader but had no sense of what to do until Gaia created Themis, who gave natural order to life. Great War It was prophesied that one day Cronos would also be overthrown by his children, and so he swallowed them after they were born. However, Cronos’ wife, Rhea, could not bear another loss and tricked Cronos into swallowing a stone wrapped in cloth. This baby was named Zeus, and would be raised by Gaia on her back until he came of age and decided to take revenge upon Cronos. When Zeus became an adult, he freed his brothers and sisters from the belly of Cronos and began a revolt against the Titans, starting the Great War. During this war, Gaia aided the Titans in the battle, and was eventually cast into Tartarus along with her children. ''God of War II'' Gaia watched Kratos rise as a Spartan general and fall as a servant of Ares. She observed his ability and the strength to destroy his enemies from the time he was born. After Kratos was betrayed and killed by Zeus, Gaia appeared in a vision before him while he was being dragged down to the Underworld by the Arms of Hades. Asking if he was a coward who accepts death, Gaia caused Kratos’ fighting spirit to be renewed and filled his mind with vengeance and hatred towards Zeus. She prophesized that Kratos was destined to change the fates of all Olympus, and guided him to the Island of Creation, where he would have to defeat the Sisters of Fate and change his fate by going back in time to when he was betrayed by Zeus. After Kratos was told by the Last Spartan that his beloved city had fallen at the hands of Zeus, Kratos lost all hope. Gaia appeared once again in a vision while Kratos fought the Kraken, this time as his wife. She told Kratos that there would be no eternal rest for him even in the afterlife. Zeus would see to it that his soul be tortured by Hades for the all of time. Once again his fighting spirit was renewed, and Kratos destroyed the Kraken using the fires of the burned Sparta itself. Using the Threads of Fate, Kratos traveled back in time to the final minutes of the Great War. He was greeted by Gaia, who revealed that she had been expecting him (it's unknown how she knew who he was and that he was coming but she may have asked the sisters, or Gaia is simply omniscient). Gaia informs Kratos that even with his help, they still can't defeat the Gods, but he tells that they can win in his time. Using the power of time, Kratos saved the Titans from being banished to Tartarus and took them back to his time. With the full power of the Titans on his side and the Blade of Olympus, Kratos climbed Mount Olympus on the back of Gaia, beginning the second Great War. ''God of War III In God of War III, Gaia will serve as an ally and Kratos will be able to scale her body and explore it like an environment. She will also play a role in Kratos' battle against Zeus and will be attacked by Poseidon and his Leviathans. She will be wounded by one of the Leviathans. It also seems that she and the other Titans betray Kratos in the events of God of War III. She states that he was just a pawn to be served for the Titans, and this is the Titans' War, not his. When Kratos reaches the city of Olympia, Gaia comes along and asks Kratos for his help. Kratos, remembering what Gaia did to him on Mount Olympus and how he was brought to the Underworld, refuses and severs Gaia's hand. In the middle of Kratos' and Zeus' battle, Gaia interupts the revenge war and attempts to destroy both Kratos and Zeus by crushing The Shrine of Olympus. Both father and son fall into Gaia, similar to being in Cronos. Kratos thens fights to destroy both Zeus and Gaia. Gaia dies when Kratos simultaneously kills Zeus by stabbing him with the Blade of Olympus which also pierced Gaia's heart. Gaia's body then crumbled into dust. Gallery Trivia *The narrator/Gaia in the ''God of War games is voiced by actress Linda Hunt. Category:Characters Category:God of War 1 Characters Category:God of War 2 Characters Category:Titans Category:Immortals Category:God of War III Category:God of War 3 Characters Category:Female characters Category:Deceased characters